FlavorSum expands MI facility, opens NJ innovation center

The flavor producer is increasing capacity and adding technical capabilities.

Photo: Tamanna Rumee/Pexels

FlavorSum, a North American flavor producer, has completed construction and opened a 35,000-square-foot expansion at its Kalamazoo, MI, facility. The increased footprint enhances the site’s emulsion, extraction, and warehousing capacity and includes investment in process automation to increase efficiency, quality, and safety. The on-site Innovation Center’s pilot plant has new UHT and HTST processing capabilities that support FlavorSum's Dairy Center of Excellence.

“We remain focused on reducing the headaches associated with flavor sourcing and new product development,” says Brian Briggs, president and CEO of FlavorSum. “We continue to build our capabilities and resources as the go-to flavor solutions partner for small, mid-sized, and emerging food and beverage companies. We’re grateful for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s shared commitment to the expansion that will deliver economic growth benefits to Michigan and the Kalamazoo region.”

In addition to Innovation Centers in Kalamazoo, MI, and Mississauga, ON, FlavorSum is opening a 10,000-square-foot Innovation Center in Marlton, NJ. The Center has expanded flavor creation lab, analytical and application spaces to facilitate collaborative sessions with a technical team that has expertise in food and beverage flavor solutions. The NJ Innovation Center will also house the Beverage Center of Excellence that features pilot capabilities for carbonation, canning, tunnel pasteurization, and hot filling.

“Our Innovation Centers offer customers the opportunity to partner on-site with our flavorists and applications experts and speed the product development cycle,” says Dave Franz, FlavorSum CCO. “We now have locations in close proximity to customers across the US and Canada that also give us access to multiple talent pools. Our operational structure helps customers achieve their growth goals with resources like market insights, regulatory experts, and streamlined commercialization processes. We prioritize continuous improvement to keep pace with their needs.”

An official ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony will occur at the Kalamazoo facility in the spring of 2024.

Jenni Spinner is the chief editor of Snack Food and Wholesale with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business communications. She has written extensively about food production, safety and packaging; pharmaceutical drug development; concrete and masonry construction; and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Illinois. Jenni can be reached at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com.

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